Qualifiers

It seems as if a day doesn't go by that I feel like someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I feel like I'm being brainwashed by the media, Madison Ave, corporations, radio shows, TV shows etc.. - you name it and it seems that everyone has gotten in the act.

Words no longer have the meaning they once had. Everybody now is quick to add an adverb and/or adjective as some kind of qualifier or quantifier to a word that needs none. The more I see of it the more I question where their message is coming from. Labels are thrown around as if we have bought a million of them for a $ in China.

I turn on the radio in Boston and a show comes on which labels itself, "the natural truth." If you don't tell the truth then you tell a lie or a fib. What the heck is the natural truth? Is there someone who goes around spewing the unnatural truth? The first time I heard this I had to question if they were telling me THE truth. How can I have credence in someone who has to tell me what kind of truth they are spewing. Are there different levels of truth?

A prominent newspaper says that what they publish is "all the news fit to print." I guess the paper I read has some news that's not fit to print. If it's not fit to print why are they printing what's unfit to print? Why am I reading unfit stuff? Why waste a valuable resource (paper) and why would they want to pollute my mind? And what do they mean by fit?

I thought I was Catholic until I saw a web broadcast a year or so ago from Real Catholic TV. Funny - I watch Boston Catholic TV programming and once I saw the other I had to question if I was watching real Catholic TV or fake. Gee, I wonder if EWTN is classified as real Catholic TV?

I guess all these people don't trust me in making sound decisions. Why else would they have to tell me what the real truth is or that their news is fair and balanced opposed to another channel who is unfair and unbalanced.

Another one tells me to eat fresh. I ask, what is so fresh about what you sell? Are they insinuating that I eat stale stuff? I enjoy going out to my vegetable garden and picking a tomato from the vine, some basil, a cucumber and going in to make a fresh salad. That's what I consider fresh.

I found one company that doesn't hold back any punches. Diesel jeans has the slogan, "Be Stupid." No I don't want to be stupid but more and more I'm sent messages implying that I am stupid.

When I was young I was told that I was smart. Over time that was replaced by real smart or really smart. Now, I think it's a Boston thing we hear that someone is wicked smart.